RESEARCH-BASED PLANNING FOR CHANGE - ASSESSING NURSES ATTITUDES TOWARD GOVERNANCE AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AUTONOMY AFTER HOSPITAL ACQUISITION

Objective: This article describes one medical center's experience in u sing research to plan for nursing staff integration after hospital acq uisition. Background: Resistance to new policies, procedures, and stan dards; passive acceptance of new leadership; limited support for manag ement plans; and failure to integrate with new nursing units are commo n staff reactions after acquisitions. Little has been written regardin g which key staff variables to assess after acquisitions and how to us e this data to plan for change. Structural contingency and attribution theory were used to guide leadership staff's assessment of acquired s taff attributes to determine their congruence with concepts valued by the acquiring organization. Methods: Qualitative and quantitative data were collected using a survey method. All 141 registered nurses and l icensed practical nurses of the acquired medical center received a mai led survey. Sixty-six completed surveys were returned through the U.S. mail. No identifying information was placed on the survey to assure a nonymity. Results: The survey results described nurses' perceptions of the advantages, concerns, and suggestions for a smooth transition aft er acquisition. In addition, the results clarified that nurses in the newly acquired hospital preferred a shared governance structure (congr uent with the acquiring medical center's values) and the nurses' perce ived professional nursing autonomy was similar to that of nurses who w orked at the acquiring medical center. Conclusions: By sharing the fin dings, both staffs were sensitized to the similarities among the staff as well as to their differences. Transition strategies were planned t o capitalize on this knowledge,This process may be useful for other nu rse executives to replicate as they guide their organizations through similar transitions.